Autons - Robotic mannequins that
were
programmed to destroy humans on the long-running British sci-fi
series DOCTOR WHO/BBC/1963-90.

Auton mannequins break out of a
display case

Created by the evil race of
Nestenes from the planet Polymos, the Autons came in a variety of
plastic shapes ranging from a blank-faced
army of robot workmen to exact duplicate copies of humans called
Replicas.

The Autons appeared on only two serials during the original
series run "Spearhead from Outer Space" (1970) and "Terror of the Autons"
(1971). The Autons reappeared on
the revitalized DOCTOR WHO series episode "Rose" (2005).

The first time we learn the Nestene Consciousness (a tentacled
blob of energy) has landed on earth in a hollow meteor with the
intent of using the planet earth''s toxins as a food source.
The Nestene immediately take
over an auto plastics factory (hence the name "Autons") and begins
to manufacture humanoid duplicates designed to infiltrate the
government as well as mannequins that eventually come alive and
begin to kill innocent bystanders. In the end, Doctor Who defeats
the Nestene Consciousness with an electrostatic device that
consequently renders the Autons inanimate.

On the "Terror of the Autons" The
Master, another rouge Timelord and enemy of the Doctor breaks into
National Space Museum and steals one of the energy units used by
the Nestene Consciousness. He then sends a radio beam to
notify the Nestene Invasion force how to find earth. Meanwhile,
The Master begins to manufacture more Autons.

The Doctor finally
convinces The Master that upon arrival, the Nestenes will not
distinguish him from the others on earth so together he and The
Doctor shut down the radio beacon that directs the Nestenes to our
galaxy. Unfortunately, in all the confusion, The Master escapes.

The Autons were resurrected for the new DOCTOR WHO series that
debuted on the BBC in 2005. On the first episode "Rose," the
Doctor searches for the location of the Nestene
Consciousness which had lost its food planets in the Time War and
sought to conquer earth for its supplies of pollution, plastic and
protein. With the help of his new companion, Rose Tyler
(Billie Piper), Doctor Who discovers the Nestene headquarters

The Doctor, an Auton and the Nestene
Consciousness

After warning the Nestene to cease and desist their conquest,
The Doctor - with no other choice - drops a vial onto the blob of
energy that holds the Nestene Consciousness. The "anti-plastic"
substance in the vial destroys the tentacled blob - it explodes - and
stops the invading army of Autons that had begun to ransack the
city of London.